The work of St. Clare of Assisi, a new ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, is beginning to take shape.  I am delighted to be working with lay leaders Cecilia and Bill Wheeler, who are helping to launch our small group ministry in the World Golf Village area of St. Augustine.  I have invited Cecilia and Bill to “blog” here from time to time, to share their reflections as we work shoulder-to-shoulder to do this work.

The Wheelers are devoted parishioners of St Francis in the Field in Ponte Vedra/Palm Valley, where I also serve as a priest, and they bring many gifts to this new ministry: skill as communicators and business planners; facility with technology and social networking (Bill is a professor of IT); and experience in dramatic performance and coaching for public speaking and drama (Cecilia has extensive background in this area). Cecilia and Bill met while working in television; we find it delightfully serendipitous that popular Catholicism has designated Clare as the patron saint of television!

Prayers of thanksgiving going up for the enthusiasm and commitment Cecilia and Bill bring to this new adventure in Christ!